Approvals/Blanche Beilschmidt
Character Name: : Blanche Beilschmidt Character's Age: : Twenty-seven School & Team: : Blanche attended Atlas Academy, and was the leader of the team known as BBLS. Personality: : Blanche Beilschmidt is methodical, logical, and mostly cold - it's hard for anyone to reach her from outside. She very much sees mostly everything with analytical eyes, even such things that are supposed to be ruled by the heart are usually ruled by the head. While this makes her somewhat hyperintelligent, it can make her seem unempathetic, emotionless, and unreasonable. Her questions are questions of science and progress. She is a tactician, not a fighter made of brawn, and she makes that much perfectly plain at face value. : To break through this barrier, formed through years of hurt by those close to her, you must be endlessly persistent and risk whatever semblance of a half-hearted relationship you may have had before for the chance of something closer. And not everything about Blanche, beyond the wall, is pretty - first and foremost you find someone deeply hurt, and angered by the injustice her family and friends have faced. Angry about the injustice other people face. And if she lets you in, you will have to live with her at her worst as well as at her best - her entire, messy, glory. Blanche does feel, and vividly - just, most of the time, she blocks it out. : Blanche does not like people. She does not like people, she does not like their company, and she especially does not like small-minded conversations. Her preferred company are those on her level with whom she can sustain a decent, compelling argument. But what of the good side of Blanche? Given the chance, and the closeness, you can find the warm girl Blanche might have been - humourous, happy, almost optimistic. Almost. But a rare few have seen this, and even they risk her slamming the walls down again after a moment's misstep. :To her students, Blanche is almost a mother - warm, patient, willing to listen. It's a face people wish she could "Apply To All". Her experiences mean she's almost a counselor to some students. Some people still believe she's a criminal and shouldn't be teaching there - but these people are her parents' associates and thus their opinions matter little. History: : Blanche Beilschmidt is the first-born child of her parents - or so she thinks. The truth is that she was adopted shortly after birth by the people she calls "Mum" and "Dad". They were scientists, and took advantage of the fact that Blanche's parents could not afford to raise their child under Atlas' largely capitalist systems. The two named the girl Blanche - white, clean slate - and raised her in their Atlas penthouse apartment. : It quickly became clear that Blanche's semblance was powerful, and useful, and so too could it be used for the wrong reasons. They spent several years trying to extract it in procedures that were both physically and mentally painful, and she was kept secluded from the public eye. It was, however, eventually decided that due to these consistent failures, she'd be allowed to combat school to hone the abilities until such time they worked out a way. Blanche, embittered that they only wanted to use her to sell semblances on the black market, found it difficult to trust anyone. She pulled a shirt over her scars and put make-up over the facial ones, never letting anyone see her change. Eventually, she'd learn to hide these using her semblance - but she was ashamed of the scars. Thought they proved her weak. : Her partner, Saffron Montcroix, was the first person Blanche ever trusted. Because she was persistent, and kind to Blanche no matter what. Blanche mostly rejected her other two combat school teammates, preferring to work independently or with Saffron. During the holidays she'd notice new "siblings" cropping up - she couldn't warn them of what might happen for fear of retribution. But she could tell when it happened. They had the look, something Blanche had learned to hide. : Blanche and Saffron were partners at Atlas Academy, too, and inevitably formed a serious romantic relationship - Blanche was chosen to lead "Team Bubbles". Blanche thought it apt, given her fragility, but the rest of their classmates underestimated and mocked them. This infuriated the leader, who accepted the other two team members at long last and insisted they work to disprove those who jeered at them. : In third year, Saffron saw Blanche's scars. She demanded to know about them. And she told her, in exchange for the details she didn't know about Saffron's life with her father. They bonded even closer, after that, and got an apartment together away from the abusive households. But Blanche kept going back to support siblings not hers by blood, and thus her pain continued. Until, just after Blanche finished at Atlas, she walked back into the youngest sibling lying unbreathing, the others vacant and pained. It seemed they had found their "way" to do this at last, and it was dark, evil, archaic. : They wrestled with Blanche but she overpowered them - accidentally killing them in the process. She'd just killed two of Atlas' most high-profile scientists. There was no way to save her little sister, and the rest were mere humans. She's saved their semblancss. Locked them away where nobody can get at them until such time she can reunite power with body. It's one of the things she's started teaching for, to use the resources in Atlas' vault. : Not knowing what else to do, Blanche wrote an exposé on the many 'projects' of her 'parents'. After an exhaustive court trial that lasted some two years, Blanche Beilschmidt was acquitted of murder through reasons of self-defence. She was, however, diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to the mental health investigation. Throughout that whole process, Saffron was there. Even from afar when training, she was there. After the trial Blanche burned her parents' research, never wanting anyone to get their hands on it. : She joined the teaching staff at Atlas when she was twenty-three. Saffron eventually became Headmistress and Blanche was her biggest cheerleader. Blanche, having been through so much, is a good point of reference for students who wish for someone to talk to. Weapons: : Blanche's weapon is "Ephemeral" - a sniper rifle-staff combo. The second form is for emergencies if she is forced into close-range combat, for increased accuracy. It shrinks to a manageable size to strap across her back in its passive form. Its first form is capable of firing Dust projectiles. The name means 'lasting for a very short time' but has no real relevance to the function of the weapon, it just...was a beautiful word. Semblance: : Blanche's semblance is "Identity Fraud" - the ability to take on someone else's identity, complete with appearance and voice. The longer this is held, the more energy it drains, and she must have seen the person she is impersonating before. At maximum, she can hold a disguise for three days but must wait the same amount of time for it to recharge - not to mention that in the three days' recharge time, she is mostly catatonic and especially vulnerable. Other: : Blanche currently teaches Unarmed Combat at Atlas Academy; her soulmate is the Headmistress there, Saffron Montcroix. Category:Approved